Prospectus

We believe it is essential that all children entering Rickmansworth School know that their individual needs are recognised and understood by the staff and can be confident that these will be met.

Induction
Before children join the School we visit them in the primary schools during the summer term to begin the process of transition. Many pupils will already be familiar with the school through our outreach work in the arts, science and sport . Later in the term they visit the School for an induction day, when they meet their form tutor and other pupils in their form. They also meet some of the older pupils and see the School. In this way they become acquainted with their new School and have fewer anxieties about the impending change. Then during their first few days inschool they have a special induction programme which is designed to ease them into the new secondary school environment. Early in the term parents are invited to meet the form tutors to discuss the ways in which the children have settled into their new school.



Organisation
Without careful organisation a boy or girl can feel quite lost and bewildered in a large school. At Rickmansworth we arrange for each pupil to be placed in a form of no more than 26 with a form tutor who is responsible for each pupil’s welfare and progress throughout their time at the school. As the pupils progress through the School the form tutor remains with them thereby ensuring complete continuity.

In addition all boys and girls in Years 7 and 8 belong to Key Stage 3 under the overall care and supervision of the Key Stage 3 and Year 7 Transition Co-ordinator who, together with the form tutor, is normally the first point of contact for parents. The School is arranged in four groups, the Lower School (Year 7), the Middle School (Years 8 & 9), the Upper School (Years 10 & 11) and the Sixth Form, each with a Key Stage Co-ordinator and Year Learning Co-ordinator who have overall responsibility for the care and guidance of all pupils in their groups. Guidance is particularly important at the crucial stages where choices of courses are made, and the help of both School and County careers staff is also available to pupils and their parents from Year 9 onward. This ensures that attention is given to the individual needs of each boy and girl within a clear framework for the needs of the year group. For academic purposes, each year is divided into seven classes. Each pupil is placed in a class with others of similar academic ability, ensuring that the teaching staff can attend to the individual needs of each boy and girl whilst the whole class progresses together.

Discipline
The aim is to foster responsibility and self-discipline in each boy and girl, allowing the development of the individual to take place within the bounds of consideration for others. High standards of both work and behaviour are set both in and out of School. The co-operation of parents in maintaining these standards is an important part of the process.

We expect pupils to be committed to working hard and taking responsibility for their own learning and behaviour, striving to achieve their personal best in all they do. This extends to their dress and appearance, and we expect parents to ensure that their children are dressed according to the School’s requirements. Pupils are regularly praised and rewarded for good work, behaviour and performance using the School’s merit and colours system. Detention of pupils after School hours, at weekends, or during holidays is used when we judge it necessary.

Monitoring Progress
Individual progress is closely monitored by a system of assessments, examinations, reports and consultations. We compare pupils’ predicted results with their current achievements and intervene when appropriate. We welcome and encourage involvement of parents in their children’s education and in this monitoring process, beginning with the Student Planner. Every pupil is required to keep a record of homework set, and parents are asked to monitor homework and sign the planner each week. The Planner is also checked weekly by the form tutor. There are annual parents’ evening for each year when parents can discuss their son’s or daughter’s progress with the staff and share in the decisions to be made. There is also a Progress Review Day when pupils review their work and set their own targets for the coming year. Further contact is provided through end-of-term reports and by telephone, letter or meeting as necessary. Parents can contact Form Tutors or Key Stage Learning Coordinators at any time to raise matters of concern or simply to enquire about progress. The Headmaster is also pleased to see parents by appointment. Information about events going on in and around School is provided by the monthly Rickmansworth Reporter from the Parents’ Guild and termly newsletters from the Headmaster.


Information & Presentation Evenings.

There are regular meetings to give parents information about the School and to offer advice on how they can support their child. A meeting in Year 8 focuses on ‘How to help your child Learn’ and in Year 9 on preparation for SATs. In Years 9 and 11 there are also information evenings for GCSE and A Level options, and in the Lower Sixth evenings outlining A Level study and routes into higher education. There are presentation evenings to pupils who have done particularly well at school, with the awarding of prizes and certificates at Lower, Middle, Upper and Sixth Form Presentation Evenings.

School Council

Pupils are encouraged to become involved in the wider life of the School through pupil committees and the School Council. The Council meets twice a term to discuss School successes and raise issues with senior staff.


We believe in an ordered School where boys and girls treat each other and the staff with respect and courtesy, and where the environment is conducive to hard work and high academic achievements